Tennis legend Andre Agassi used crystal meth in 1997, failed a drug test, and boldly lied in a letter to tennis officials in order to successfully dodge a competition ban, according to selections from the book published online Tuesday night by an Australian newspaper.

Agassi also spoke about this in an online story to People.

"I can't speak to addiction, but a lot of people would say that if you're using anything as an escape, you have a problem,"

"I feel ashamed, of course," Agassi writes in his description of the letter. "I promise myself that this lie is the end of it."

The forthcoming autobiography, entitled "Open," is due out Nov. 9

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